The Maxx fan is standard, with full controls on board. The remote model is optional. My thinking is that I hate too many remotes and they are never handy when you want it, and that it is super easy to push the buttons on the fan itself. Still, if you like gadgets, or maybe sit inside a lot, it might be nice.

I am going to assume here, that you can still run the fan directly, correct?

I got the remote upgrade with "smoke" (instead of white opaque) cover. Reace would've installed the manual version with smoke cover, but the up charge was the same, since it would've been special order. I didn't really want the remote, either, but I assume I won't have to use it if it's lost.